While we’ll never know the actual viewership figures for the 2017 Death Note live-action film on Netflix, it did well enough that a sequel has been given the green light after calling the first a “sizable” success according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The first film was directed by Adam Wingard and starred Nat Wolff as Light and Willem Dafoe as Ryuk. It received worldwide streaming on August 25th, 2017.
The project was budgeted with a planned $40-50 million range – which is exactly the type of film Warner does well but is looking to do less of thanks to changing priorities in the marketplace and globally theatrically.
The film was produced by Vertigo Entertainment with Witten Pictures and Lin Pictures, who have seen a good infusion this past year with their success in producing The LEGO Movie. Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Jason Hoffs and Masi Oka are involved as producers. The cast currently includes Nat Wolff and Margaret Qualley.
Viz Media has released the manga and anime in North America.
Plot Concept: The story follows a student who discovers a mysterious notebook that kills whomever’s name is written in it. When the student meets the notebook’s previous owner, a demon bent on ridding the world of anyone it deems evil or useless, he ends up tracked by an Interpol officer investigating the unexplainable deaths of several criminals.
